“His rise has been really quick and one of the best things about him is his character,” Ince told FourFourTwo.

“You can tell he’s got some inner strength and that’s helped him cope with moving up through the game quite quickly. He’s got a good mindset, he knows what he wants to achieve in the game and what he needs to do to get there.

“He’s still got a lot to learn and it’s important that we don’t get too carried away about him. Some of the stuff Dele does is very immature. He makes some silly tackles and he can kick out at people. That’s where he’s got to learn and improve.”

Former Manchester United midfielder Ince, who won 53 caps for England, witnessed the talent of Alli while manager of MK Dons.

And the 48-year-old insists there is no ceiling to Alli’s potential ability.

“He’s got potential to be anyone he wants to be,” he added.

“He reminds me a little bit of Steven Gerrard. He’s got a similar build, he can tackle, he makes great runs into the box – he’s a goalscoring midfielder, and we don’t get too many of those.

“Dele is clever and he’s got all the attributes to succeed, because he can do everything.”